Does your name date you?

Joe50's · Jul 7, 2016

My great grandmas name was Artie irene and my grandpa Woodrow they named thier daughters in the 40's lizebeth Nadine and Thelma Louise .
Thelma which was my grandma always went by Louise since she started school as she told me Thelma was too prehistoric compared to her friends Peggy sue , Carroll, Joann, and Mary Sue

frussell · Jul 8, 2016

BlueTrain said:
This isn't the answer to that question but does anybody name their son "Frank" these days? Or Clyde?

I mentioned somewhere that I knew a man named Shirley. He was married to one of my stepmother's daughters, whose name was Billie. My stepmother's name was Naomi, an unusual name in itself.

I've got a four year old Frank, and a two year old Henry. Both are family names. Henry, my great-grandfather is my avatar photo. I haven't met another little Frank so far, just a bunch of Wyatts, Aidans (several spellings), Hunters, Dylans, Jaydens, etc... There is a kid at my boy's school with the most excellent name Kannon, last name Ball. I like that one. I went to high school with a Rocky, Cliff, and their sister Candy, last name Mountain. I always wondered if the sister pursued the vocation most fitting for that name.

BlueTrain · Jul 8, 2016

Those are pretty good but they might end up being worse than being a boy named Sue. Back when we were active in scouting, another father in the troop was named Carl. He was a stay-at-home dad. His children were named Carl Junior, Carla, Carlotta, and some other variations I don't remember.

Stearmen · Jul 9, 2016

BlueTrain said:
Those are pretty good but they might end up being worse than being a boy named Sue. Back when we were active in scouting, another father in the troop was named Carl. He was a stay-at-home dad. His children were named Carl Junior, Carla, Carlotta, and some other variations I don't remember.

Fading Fast · Jul 9, 2016

I just thought of this, even though most (not all) of my friend's kids have very "today" names - Zoey, Madison, for example - all the young cousins and nephews in my small family have traditional names - John, Kathy, Gregory, Michael, Benjamin (I know the names well as I believe each one has a birthday every six months

). Although, there is one Marcella in the family, despite there being no heritage to point to or older relative with the name.

LizzieMaine · Jul 10, 2016

BlueTrain said:
Those are pretty good but they might end up being worse than being a boy named Sue. Back when we were active in scouting, another father in the troop was named Carl. He was a stay-at-home dad. His children were named Carl Junior, Carla, Carlotta, and some other variations I don't remember.

My brother in law Butch's real name is Carl, his dad was Carl Sr. and his sister is Carla. Must've been something in the water that year.

Stearmen · Jul 10, 2016

LizzieMaine said:
My brother in law Butch's real name is Carl, his dad was Carl Sr. and his sister is Carla. Must've been something in the water that year.

By Uncle Paul is still called Butch by every one.

Mr. Pickett · Jul 11, 2016

My great grandfather was a Reginald.

I always liked the name St John, too, which is rather dated.

KILO NOVEMBER · Jul 11, 2016

My recently-deceased uncle (my mother's brother) had Melvin on his birth certificate, but everyone but his mother called him Butch.

HudsonHawk · Jul 12, 2016

I know a Butch. I have no idea what his real name is, for all I know it's "Butch". I know more than one gentleman who's legal first name is "Junior", but they're all from North Carolina.

GHT · Jul 12, 2016

Years ago, I knew a lady by the name of Syd. Stupidly, I asked her what it was short for. She said: "Sydney."

Wesslyn · Jul 22, 2016

I was nearly named Charles Wesslyn IV before my parents decided that it would be too dated and changed it to the awful dated to the early 90s Chase at the last second.
My late girlfriend was named Sally, who was born in 1997. She was by far the youngest gal I ever met with that name, as it seems to have faded away a bit, despite seeming to be once very popular.
I suppose I've always been a fan of simple traditional first names. If I were to ever have kids, I hope they like their boring names. Unfortunately there won't be a Charles Wesslyn V anytime soon...

An interesting thought to me, is how the wife taking the husband's last name tradition seems to be tapering off a bit. Insecurity with the permanence in a world where most marriages end in divorce now, perhaps?

BobHufford · Jul 22, 2016

My nephew and his new wife combined their last names. Not hyphenated, but a merge into a new last name. Not sure how his Dad or paternal Grandfather feel about that.

LizzieMaine · Jul 22, 2016

I think most women today simply don't care to change their names because they're *their* names. Nothing wrong with that -- the Lucy Stone movement goes back to the 19th Century.

Hyphenated or combined married names were not unheard of in the Era. Journalist Raymond Swing married feminist leader Betty Gram in 1921, and they both adopted the name "Gram Swing," under which name Raymond became a very prominent radio commentator in the 1930s and 1940s.

My own last name means absolutely nothing to me emotionally -- my father doesn't deserve even that level of acknowledgement -- but it's the name I've accomplished everything I've done in my life under, and I'd see no reason to change it.

kaiser · Jul 23, 2016

I work with two guys who have taken on the last names of their wives. One completely, the other with a double last name. Not all that common for men, but it does happen here in Germany.

Stanley Doble · Jul 24, 2016

My father used to have a friend named Dyna Willoughby (a man). His nickname was Dynamite but everyone called him Dyna. Another kid he went to school with in the early 30s was called Pork Eye.

scotrace · Jul 24, 2016

I've mentioned this here before, but I have a friend whose children are named Jacinda, Josiah, Jenna, Jeneane and Janelle.
I told her they had to stop having kids as all the remained in the series was Jemima and Jehovah.

Nobert · Aug 1, 2016

Every first-born male in my family (paternally) has been named Robert since the first one immigrated from County Clare about seven generation ago. On my mother's side, my grandparents were Mary and Arthur (sort of perennials) and my father's mother was Helen. You don't meet a lot of Helens these days. My mother's birth mother (she was adopted) was Elsie (middle name Claudine), also one that has fallen off.

KILO NOVEMBER · Aug 2, 2016

Wesslyn said:
... there won't be a Charles Wesslyn V anytime soon...

I suppose that would have to wait at least until you're a grandfather.

Wesslyn · Aug 3, 2016

KILO NOVEMBER said:
I suppose that would have to wait at least until you're a grandfather.

I don't plan on reproducing anyway

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